Improvement in carriage-lock



JOHN A. BowE R, OF MIDDLEFIi'E-LD, 01110.

-Letters Patent No. 77,162, dated April 28, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE-LOCK.

Gite; seam were in in 1112s: fitters fittest ant mating part at its amt.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. POWER, of Middlefield, in the county ofGeauga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in carriagellocks; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and complete description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which-'- Figure 1 is aside view of the lock. Figure 2is a top view. 7 Figure 3 is an under side view.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the views,

This lock is attached to the underside of the thills, A, fig. 1, andconsists of a curved lever, B, fig. 3, one end of which is pivoted tothe cross-rail C, which isthen carried around under the thill, andproceeds outward far enough to reach the wheels, as shown in fig. 2.

The free end of the lever is kept in connection with the thills by aguide or stay-strap, D. E is ahead, connected to the lever by meansof ahinge-joint, so that it can be turned up at a right angle with the planeof the lever, as indicated by thedotted lines a, fig. 1. i

To this head is fixed the rub-iron F, against which the wheel rubs, aswill hereafter be shown.

G, fig. 3, is a rod, one end of which is attached to the lever at thepoint a; from thence it is continued along under the under side of thethill, and to which it is attached bystaples, H, through which the rodis allowed to play backward and forward, for a purpose presently shown.

Having thus described the construction and arrangement of the lock, theoperation of the same is as follows, viz:

The horse on being placed in the shafts, the thill-straps supporting theshafts will, on the carriage descending a'hill, draw hard against theend of the rod at I, which, acting on the lever, will cause it to pressthe head E and rub-iron against the wheels, and thereby prevent themfrom turning, the degree of pressure being accord ing to the steepnessof the hill or weight of the carriage. The pressure thus exerted on thewheels being released, the lock or rub-iron is forced back from themby.a spring, J, leaving the wheels free to turn as before.

It will be obvious that by this arrangement, the lock is self-acting,and is immediately applied without the required attention of the driver,and at all times meeting the resistance of the carriage in equalandsuflicient power to restrain its movements, according to the variedcircumstances or conditions in which the carriage may.

be placed'. 7

By having the head to which the' rub-iron is fixed hinged to the lever,as above described, the carriage can be run backward, or backed, withoutthe lock being exerted upon the wheels, for on reversing the motion ofthe wheels, the rub-iron and head will be carried upward in thedirection of the moving wheel, and therefore will exert no pressure onthem; hence the carriage can be backed up without being in any degreeobstructed by the action of the lock.

What I claim as my improvement, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is In the brakes for carriages, the lovers B B, hinged heads E E,springs J J, and rods G G, as arranged in combination with the thills AA, in the'manner and for the'purpose substantially as set forth.

' JOHN A. BOWER. Witnesses:

J. H. Bnmuoen, E. M. BROWN.-

